Caustic esophageal and gastric erosion without evidence of oral burns following detergent ingestion.

The effects of accidental ingestion of a caustic detergent are studied in the report of 14 patients seen in the Hennepin County Medical Center. Since the history of amount ingested was unclear, all patients underwent endoscopy. Four patients had esophageal injury serious enough to warrant hospitalization. None of the patients had evidence of oropharyngeal burns, thus challenging the validity of the widely held notion that oral lesions nearly always accompany esophageal injury following caustic ingestion. The importance of analyzing the ingested substance is emphasized, as is the need for emergency departments to have wide range pH paper available to help determine the necessity for endoscopy.